Welcome to my home:
a place to rest,
a place to revive,
a place to pray.

A long time ago when I was in college, I had a baby blue comforter that covered my twin bed in my dorm room. In my opinion, this down comforter was the best bedspread ever! I loved it so much that I kept it for years. It moved with me from my dorm room to my first apartment, to my first home with my new husband, and then to our next home together with our four children! I remember wrapping my little ones up in it, holding them close, embracing them with all the love I had in me.

‍

This is why this second gift in my children's book Christmas Morning is so sweet to me. The little girl in the story delightfully unwraps a bright blue package with a shiny white bow and finds... a soft blue blanket. And as I mentioned in my previous post , each of the seven tangible gifts in the story are meant to represent different intangible realities that we have been freely given in Christ.

‍

The blue blanket is: the blanket of peace.

‍

Have you ever been given news that stops you in your tracks? Your world is turned upside down and you're not sure how to cope? In this place, and in the moments, minutes, months, and years following, God wants to wrap you in his peace. The way I held my little ones in the soft blue comforter is the way that your heavenly Father wants to hold you, now and always.

‍

Allow God's word to speak into this truth. Read these verses slowly; unwrap his gift:

‍

‍Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

‍

‍You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts you. Isaiah 26:3

‍

‍Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:13-14

‍

Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God though our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

‍

For he himself is our peace... Ephesians 2:14

‍

Unlike my down comforter that finally fell apart (feathers everywhere) after a decade of good use, God's "blanket of peace," will never wear thin. It's eternal, but it's meant for today. It's other-worldly, but it's meant to help us in this world.

‍

Envision yourself wrapped up in God's strong, caring arms. In this safe place, pour out your heart. Weep. Be held. Be loved.

‍

For there is no real rest for the soul, except for the indwelling presence of God's perfect peace.

‍

In my soon-to-release children's book Christmas Morning, a little girl opens one gift after another, and each one of these presents take her on an exciting and whimsical adventure in her very own living room. These tangible gifts are meant to symbolize deeper intangible truths that we all have in Christ.

‍

The first gift the little girl opens is a crown. This is not an ordinary crown --the kind that eventually gets lost in the bottom of a dress-up container. Rather, it symbolizes the crown that we are given through our faith in Christ. When the little girl puts it on her head, a thrill runs all the way down to her toes and then her living room is teeming with LIFE--a vibrant tree, birds, butterflies and bunnies appear. She freely sings, skips, hops and does cartwheels all around the room! When all of these things eventually disappear, the thrill that the crown gives her does not.

‍

May I remind you that if you believe in Jesus, he has given you a CROWN OF LIFE? All too often we strive to put tangible crowns on our heads--crowns of beauty, fame and fortune. These headpieces only weigh us down. In stark contrast, the crown that Jesus gives us lifts our chin and causes us to walk lightheartedly as his winsome ambassadors. Who wouldn't want this crown? Well, we have it! Jesus gave it to us!

‍

LET'S PUT ON OUR CROWN OF LIFE, and by faith, let's freely walk (sing, skip, hop, and do cartwheels) because of these biblical truths:

‍

Psalm 103:4

(Bless the Lord)...who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.

‍

Psalm 8:4-5

What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

‍

Isaiah 61:3

(The Spirit of the Lord is upon me)...to grant those who mourn in Zion--to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

‍

John 10:10

...I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

‍

Galatians 5:1

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

‍

Like the little girl in the story, we can say with delight, "My chin is up, because I'm wearing his crown."

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

When my illustrator (and daughter-in-law) Acacia and I were having one of our meetings concerning the artwork that would go on each page of Christmas Morning, she suggested that we should put in some Easter eggs in the book. Not quite following her lingo, I took this literally and was wondering to myself why in the world would we put Easter eggs in a Christmas book?!

‍

Acacia then explained it to me...

‍

Oh!! Easter eggs--little hidden items on the illustrated pages! I loved the idea. So...there are small treasures with sentimental value sprinkled throughout Christmas Morning. I will list them here so you can join in the fun with word-explanations now, and then hopefully later with the completed illustrated book in hand:

‍

‍The redbird in the window. Redbirds have a significant meaning to me. Long ago (meaning, decades ago!), on a snowy afternoon in January, God used this small brilliant red winged-creature to speak of his great love to me personally. At that time in my life, my faith-walk was riddled with doubt and insecurity. One afternoon, I cried out to God, wondering if he even knew where I was. His sweet way of answering me was to send a redbird directly in front of my window. When it landed on a bush covered with snow, I felt seen and heard. God was not far away! He cared! Not only did he know where I was, but he also knew what would grab my heart. The redbirds (cardinals) continue to fly my direction to this day. God is faithful and good.

‍

The little white doggy. This wonderfully illustrated dog in Christmas Morning is a tribute to our late cairn terrier. She belonged to my youngest daughter Emmy, but she was also my constant companion once Emmy went to college. Juliet, aka Baby "J", will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was a sad day for all the Baxter clan when we had to put her to sleep about a year ago. She "lives on" in such a fun and adventurous way throughout the pages of this Christmas story.

‍

The pictures on the wall and over the fireplace. There are two framed pictures on one of the pages in the book. One of these pictures is meant to represent my four young grandchildren: Hally, Ada, Simon, and Isaiah. The second picture is of a beautiful oak tree sitting in a grassy field. This illustration is bittersweet because it represents the tree that was planted at my other little grandson's burial site. Brave Rutherford Baxter was delivered (by Acacia, the illustrator) at 36 weeks without a heartbeat last October. I'm thankful to have this picture of a strong vibrant tree in the book, drawn by his mother, in her son's, my grandson's, honor. The third framed picture in the book sits over the fireplace and it is also in Brave's honor. It is an illustration of a deer leaping over a fence which is meant to represent the beautiful leap that Brave has made from earth to heaven--a leap that all who believe in Jesus will be given as an eternal gift: from death to Life! Thank you Jesus!

‍

Easter eggs in a Christmas book! What a novel idea. Each of these little treasures mentioned above have contributed both depth and sentiment in the pages of Christmas Morning. I hope you will enjoy them as well when the book comes out in the early fall.

Stay tuned for the opening of the Christmas gifts--one by one...in my next post.